The top NATO official, U.S. Gen. Wesley Clark, demanded that seven battalions of the Yugoslav army be withdrawn from the Kosovar region and that up to 5,000 army troops and 4,000 paramilitary troops be removed. The Yugoslav government will be allowed to maintain 12,500 soldiers and 6,000 cops in that province, where the overwhelming majority are Albanians who want independence from Serbia. Meanwhile, Kosovan independence fighters continue to battle against Milosevic's military and police force.
Okinawans protest youth's death allegedly caused by U.S. Marine
In early October an 18-year-old student was a victim of a
hit and run accident in Okinawa, allegedly struck by a drunken
U.S. Marine from one of the U.S. military bases there. A week
later she died from head injuries. Since the accident, U.S.
officials have refused to turn over the accused Marine to
Japanese authorities to be tried. Demonstrations have sprung
up in Okinawa demanding that Washington turn over the Marine
and comply with an agreement signed by the two governments in
1995. The agreement, which calls U.S. Marines who are suspects
of "heinous crimes" to be placed under Japanese jurisdiction,
flowed from the conviction of two U.S. troops in the rape of a
12-year-old school girl that year.
U.S. officials claim the hit-and-run killing is not a "heinous" offense. Government officials in Okinawa and the city of Ginowan have written letters denouncing the "arrogance" of U.S. troops who they say "think lightly of human life." In addition to turning over the soldier, they demand compensation for the family of the young woman.
Japan: Korean group is arsoned
The headquarters of the General Association of Korean
Residents in Japan, a group that reportedly supports the
government of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, was
burned down in the early morning hours of October 15, leaving
one person dead. Local cops claim that the building was
probably burgled. An article in the Korea Times wrote that a
Korean residents' group in Japan pointed out the escalation in
death threats and other forms of harassment since Pyongyang
launched a satellite of the August 31. There are roughly
640,000 Koreans in Japan.
Currency crisis in Asia shrinks imperialists' exports
The World Trade Organization (WTO), which said in March that
the financial crisis devastating Asia would make only a "small
dent" in global output, now expects annual growth in world
trade to be cut in half. The crises that caused currencies to
plummet in South Korea, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, the
Philippines, and many other countries in late 1997 and early
'98 has greatly reduced the amount of imports these countries
are able to buy from the imperialist countries. The export
prices of many goods from the underdeveloped nations has also
dropped with the value of the currencies. According to the WTO,
U.S. imports from Asia rose 9.5 percent while exports fell by
14.5 percent. Exports from nations in the European Union to the
five Asian countries hardest hit by the crisis plunged 40
percent and imports increased 12 percent.
Colombia: public workers strike
Workers employed by the Colombian government went on a an
indefinite strike October 7, rejecting that government's
austerity measures. Those measures include a pay raise that
falls below the new inflation rate and an expansion of items
subject to sales tax, from medicine to books. On October 14
thousands of workers from all over the country rallied in
Bogotá, the capital city, while others blocked a major road in
Cúcuta, which borders Venezuela. Workers are also demanding
the regime reschedule debt owed to foreign capitalists and halt
all sell-offs of their national patrimony. Colombian president
Andrés Pastrana refused to accept the workers' demands,
declared the strike illegal, and threatened to arrest pickets
blocking entrances to government-owned buildings. The
government also ordered troops to "dislodge" strikers occupying
major installations like oil facilities.
Honduras: deadly legacy of Washington's `contra' war
The U.S.-backed counterrevolutionary contras - forces who
fought against the Nicaraguan revolution - used Honduras as a
training ground and base of operations in the 1980s.
Washington, which funded and trained the contra forces, left
behind a heavily mined 400-square-kilometer area around the
border. Dozens of people have been killed or maimed by the
mines. More than a decade later, the U.S. government sent 12
dogs trained for eight weeks in mine detection to help
"deactivate" the mines.
- BRIAN TAYLOR